Reviews by Vancoubeer:

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Poures a deep some what murky burnt orange with a large fluffy slight off white head that settles nicely into a creamy mass leaving broken chunks of lace behind.Honestly more malt driven aromas than the big hops I expected,caramel malt stands out along with some brown sugar,the hops provide a leafy herbalness in the back end.A big sweet caramel base dominates from the start along with slight alcohol and drunkin peaches,some leafy hop rounds this out.100 IBU's really?I mean its a pretty good beer but again another DIPA thats much to big in the sweet flavor department. (573 characters)

Poured a nice dark copper into my chalice. Good head dissipates to nearly nothing reflecting what's expected from a decent ABV beer. Nice remnants of the head floating around the edges.Good powerful complex flavors of pine and citrus. No cloy or excessive bitterness radiates quality.A very good West Coast IPA.edit: updating 5/29/2011 better than I remembered. Upticked scores for appearance and smell making it a 4.5 across the board.A very enjoyable beer this Memorial Weekend watching the Indy 500. (506 characters)

Six hops, all beginning with the letter C, were used in the making of this beer: Centennial, Cascade, Chinook, Columbus, and maybe Cluster and Columbia? Chelan? Crystal? I forget. Anyway, one of these hops does not agree with me. Not sure which. I've had it in other beers and I just don't like it. I suspect it is Centennial but I'm not certain. Anyway, my personal preferences aside, the beer poured with a good head and lace, much better than the other Lompoc beers I tried, with a very hoppy aroma (of course). The malts are huge, to back up the gratuitous hops, and are firm and woody. Hops are quite herbal and bitter, and linger on the tongue, perhaps a bit too long for me. The bitterness is somewhat obtrusive. The mouthfeel is good, and drinkability is ok, but that long lingering finish from the mystery hop just doesn't do it for me. (845 characters)

Pours an amber color liquid, below average head, yet the carbonation was ample. Lacking in the aroma department, just smelled of astringency and alcohol.

Taste was massively bitter, lacking any tangible dry hopping effect in the mouthfeel. Just super long hop boil I'm guessing with Cascades. Similar to Hopsickle, but w/o the heavy, darker malt and caramel feel to Hopsickle (and w/o as many hops). The mouthfeel does mellow out eventually and the beer becomes decently drinkable. I've had worse in style, I've had better.

If you like long bittering hop boils, this is probably the beer for you. If you're a bigger fan of dry hopping, this probably is not the beer for you.

The "C" designation in the beer implies that the beer is brewed with 7 varieties of hops that begin with the letter C. These include: Cascade, Centennial, Challenger, Chinook, Cluster, Columbus and Crystal. An astounding 100 IBU's at 6.9% abv

A - Beer is a dark amber / deep copper that has plenty of carbonation and a small off white head that creates plenty of thin lacing around the glass throughout the beer.

S - Beer smells of pine, fresh hops with a caramel / toffee malt backbone to it. There is also a strong flavor of citrus including oranges and grapefruit.

T - Nice healthy dose of bitter hops but still balanced at the same time. The hop profile does not significantly over power the beer as there is a malt back end to this beer.

M - The beer has a medium carbonation to it but has a tangy mouth feel that is quite pleasant.

D - Very drinkable even considering the 6.9% abv. The beer should not be called a Pale Ale given that it is more like a Double IPA or Imperial IPA than a Pale Ale.

Overall this is a very good beer. I look forward to enjoying having some more again (1,150 characters)

Pours a dark reddish with a small head that laces well, aroma is flowery hops, not overpowering, more like a nice IPA. Taste is bitterness upfront then a slight malt sweetness kicks in, a dry sourness is in the aftertaste, bittering hops is the theme here, if that's your bag then this ones for you, just a little too one dimensional for my tastes, similar to hopstoopid without the juicy pine. As a DIPA it's good but there are lofty heights in this style, perhaps should have been marketed as an "extra" IPA like Torpedo. (525 characters)

Bomber brought home from Oregon from a recent trip. Served chilled into a goblet.

C-Note is a dark amber color with thick sticky white head. It settles slowly and leaves some nice lacing.

Aroma is fresh and hoppy but not as big as I expected from the "imperial" labeling but now I see it's an imperial pale ale. Nice piney and citrus though.

Flavor is nicely bittered but balanced. The variety of hops used helps in giving it good depth of flavor. The malts are a little darker and more caramel than most IPAs but the sweetness again helps to balance the beer.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied and perfectly carbonated.

Other than the slightly misleading label, this is a very good IPA. (685 characters)

A year-and-a-half ago, in the midst of a beer-intensive trip to Portland, OR, I had C-Note on tap at one of New Old Lompoc's locations. It's either a testament to C-Note's quality or my own foggy recollection that, 20 months later, I remembered its flavor and sought out the bottled version to bring home from a recent trip to the Pacific Northwest. And here it is before me. Will it be everything I remembered?

The rusted-blood color is deep and opaque, and the head is thin with a good bit of lace left in its wake. I definitely like its looks.

The smell is incredibly promising. Love this imperial IPA stuff, it's a fantastic style when done right, and my version of "right" means "balance." Give me tons of hops, but give me as much malt for balance and bigness. And this aroma is just as malty as it is hoppy. Grassy hops are worked into a caramel/toffee malt character, with an element that reminds me of those glassy/jewel-like Brach's hard candies: fruity, syrupy, sweet. Add a touch of alcohol and you have an absolutely wonderful nose.

Unfortunately, the flavor doesn't deliver quite as I remember when I had it on tap. The bottled version may not be doing it justice, or something in the recipe could have been tweaked between then and now...all I know is that this is merely "good," flavor-wise, when it comes to double IPAs. The hops are certainly not as bright as I remember. They're here, no doubt, but extremely grassy. I like it though, and I like that big toasted malt flavor that attempts to provide balance. Some mutated caramel comes in, as does some brown sugar. And why am I tasting salt? I haven't eaten for hours, so it can't be that. C-Note's flavor has much going for it, but it also has holes, or a lack of depth.

It would also help if it were creamier. This is a bit too tingly for the style, and the medium body just doesn't have the incredible roundness of better versions in the style category.

Somehow I knew this would never measure up to my memory of it. But I found it enjoyable enough, and as it warms it certainly opens up. The candy-like element in the nose comes in, not so much as sweetness but as a cherry/orange-like succulence. Modest ABV is also a pretty friendly aspect of C-Note. Any lover of the style should give it a shot, just don't expect brain-frying greatness. (2,321 characters)

Served on-tap at Portland' Red and Black Cafe. Pours an orange-amber hue, topped by a good finger of creamy white head that leaves some pretty lace on the glass. Aroma of floral hops and some lightly sweet malt. Palate is more floral hops, but not enough to be overwhelming. Notes of pine and citrus, as well as a low dose of sweet biscuit lying underneath. Body is rather creamy, a fair departure form the syrupy character of many stronger IPAs. Goes down very well, an excellent companion to a rainy afternoon in our fair city. (529 characters)

I bought 2 cases @ the brewery in 2010 drunk them slowly and they were fantastic and then i open one today 5-29-13 and it totally kick ass, no loss of carbonation just mellow. I am a brewer and I thought was excellent. the hops were perfect with a really good mouth feel. nice color,bouquet, and maltiness. damn fine beer!!! (324 characters)

On-tap at the brewpub, served in a pint glass. I had this right after the LSD and this was my favorite of the two. I mean, sure, I found the initial hop flavor lacking for my taste. (Maybe a little more dry-hopping would be nice.) But there's still a big, earthy kick of citrus hops that sticks with you. All in all, a tasty beer. (330 characters)